“The structural engineer was very clear. It's safe. He's just recommending that that slab be replaced,” said Stonington School Board Chairman Farouk Rajab.
The future of Stonington Middle School remains up in the air after engineers discovered cracks in part of the second floor floor in April.
“I wasn't surprised, but I know Stonington is going to take care of their students,” said Katie Quinlan, a mother at Stonington.
The school board is deciding whether to replace the slab this summer and conduct a thorough structural evaluation of the entire building.
“We want to figure out if there are other issues with the building that need to be investigated and repaired,” Rajab said.
Ed's board of directors is scheduled to meet Wednesday night to decide next steps.
“Hurrying work like this into the summer can be expensive, time-consuming, or carried out until the start of the school year,” Mr. Rajab said.
Options include renovating Stonington Middle School or building an entirely new school in its place.
“Of course everyone would want a whole new middle school, but I don't think that would be popular. How long would that take?” Quinlan said.
Whichever option is chosen, the 380 students could be temporarily relocated to nearby Pawcatuck Middle School, which currently serves as administrative offices.
“It’s a great place and a great school, but it’s not up to date and it’s cramped for the number of kids we have here. [Stonington Middle School] is a bigger school, so I don't think we'll be there full-time, but it makes everyone happy,” Quinlan said.
Wednesday's meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the district office at Pawcatuck Middle School.